For what IT worths

In a previous post, I told the story of replacing the faulty HDD in my Panasonic Toughbook CF-W2. Back then I have followed a guide on a forum linked from repair4laptop.org, which has disappeared since. I also wanted to upgrade the built-in ipw2100 miniPCI WLAN adapter to an ipw2200bg, so I decided to document the upgrade process myself too. The results are here:

First of all, the most important rule is: don’t try to fix if it ain’t broken!! A working Toughbook is a charm, but the same machine as a paperweight is useless. Taking it apart is a long and tricky process, putting it together needs just as much care and attention.

All right, so yours is broken, and isn’t so lucky as “Tsiolkovsky” to have a Panasonic Laptop repair shop around, and you think have the skills, patience, and guts to disassemble it, and YOU UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL GUIDE, AND I TAKE ABSOLUTELY NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY POSSIBLE DAMAGE OR LOSS EVEN REMOTELY CONNECTED TO THIS POST. The fact that I’m managed to repair and upgrade my CF-W2 this way does not guarantee that you’ll be as lucky as me.

Ok, enough said, let’s see the process…

Make sure you have the proper screwdrivers, some chewing gum, or a magnetic head screwdriver, and some thermal compound at hand, also prepare the new parts to be built in. Allow yourself at least an hour’s worth of time dedicated to the process.

1. Back up all your precious data to minimise damage if anything goes wrong.

2. Clear some flat workspace, and have something to hold the screws in.

3. Before shutting down, open the CD/DVD drive cover (there’s a screw beneath to tackle later).

4. Turn off the computer, remove the battery and unplug the power cord.

5. Take a big breath.

6. Remove the plastic cover on the WiFi antenna on the right side of the notebook. It is secured with two plastic tabs. You may need to strain it a bit.

7. Unwind the screw in the CD/DVD drive

8. Unwind the two screws at the wifi antenna on the right side of the laptop.

9. Unscrew the two bolts holding the VGA out connector.

10. Turn the notebook upside down.

11. Unwind the memory extension’s screw, remove the plastic cover.

12. Unwind the three long screws that hold the keyboard, remove the plastic cover.

13. Flip over the notebook.

14. Dislodge the keyboard. On the top, two plastic tabs keep it in place: one to the left of F1 and one to the right of F12, and a couple more plastic tabs around the spacebar. The keyboard is also glued with some sticky tape on three places, so a little force is needed to dislodge it from the casing. Its cable is also needed to be unplugged from the main board. Take extra care not to harm the ribbon cable during the process.

15. Unwind the 6 black screws underneath the keyboard.

16. unwind the 2 hidden screws: these are very tricky. you may consider using a magnetic head screwdriver, or a bit of chewing gum to prevent the escape of these screws into the casing.

17. Close the screen, then turn the notebook upside down. By closing the screen panel you actually secure the casing together while the bottom cover is removed.

18. Unwind all 8 screws on the bottom of the notebook. Some screws may stuck at first disassemble, be sure to use the right tool, otherwise the head will suffer, and you might be unable to take the notebook apart without considerable damage. There are four short, and four longer screws, mind their positions. (Update: Brett told me that if you mix the short and long screws, you might end up punching a hole in the motherboard during the reassemble, so better check it twice!)

19. Unwind the 2 screws securing the screen panel on both sides.

20. Carefully remove the bottom cover.

Now you can access both the HDD and the Wlan card in the miniPCI slot. Apart from the memory extension and the keyboard, these are the two modularly replaceable parts in the Toughbook W2.

21. The Wlan card has two antenna plugs (a main and an auxiliary). Simply, carefully pull them, then you can flip the module from the bay, and insert the upgrade module instead, and finally don’t forget to attach the antenna plugs.

Upgrading to an ipw2200bg or an ipw2915abg doesn’t raise any hardware compatibility issues, only a driver upgrade is needed then. You can find many of these cards on the second-hand market, usually originating from broken notebooks. I got a 2200bg for around $27 on an auction site.

22. Concerning the HDD: you need to know that most Panasonic Toughbooks use a low voltage (3.3V) HDD, which you can’t readily buy in retail shops, so you need to mod a 5V notebook HDD by clipping pins 41 and 44. (At least this worked in a few reported cases, including my Samsung SpinPoint HM080HC 80GB 2,5″ HDD).
I’ve found this HDD upgrade guide useful.

Ok, now that the parts have been replaced, you can put it back together.

23. Secure the back cover with the 2×2 screws fixing the screen panel, and the 4 long and 4 short screws fixing the cover to the casing (remember, DO NOT MIX THEM UP, as the long screw in a short’s place might damage the motherboard), then turn the notebook around and open the screen.

24. Continue with the two hidden screws: again, use a magnetic head screwdriver, or a bit of chewing gum to secure the screws while twisting. Should they fall, you’ll need to open the bottom panel again to get to them.

25. Next, take care of the the 6 black screws.

26. Now comes an important step: clean the surface of the processor (and the metallic part on the bottom of the keyboard), then apply some thermal compound on it. This is particularly important, as otherwise the CPU can get pretty hot, up to an unhealthy 90 degrees centigrade with processor intensive tasks running.

27. Plug the keyboard back, flip the plastic tabs in place. Again, handle the ribbon cable with extra care.

28. Flip the notebook over, secure the keyboard and the plastic cover with the 3 long screws, then the memory extension cover.

29. Flip once more, screw in the 2+1 screws, and put the WiFi antenna cover back in place.

30. Finally, screw the VGA connector’s bolts back to their respective place.

Now put the battery back in place, and hold your breath while starting up the notebook. If it works, well, congratulations, you’re done. In every other case, I’m sorry to say, but now it is your turn to find out what have gone wrong.

Should you be succeed or fail, I’d like to read about it, so please do post a comment here. Thanks!

For the past two and a half year, I’m using a Panasonic Toughbook CF-W2 notebook. It haven’t lost any of its shine during this time. The magnesium-alloy case and the passive cooling, along with the low power consumption and the small weight are the key factors of its success. It is my companion all day, every day.

It still has one weakness, though. Its hard disk drive. Even though it is encased in a shock-proof foam or something that sort, it still is a very delicate piece of electronics, with lots of moving parts inside. About half year ago, the one in my Toughbook decided to behave more and more weird, with occasional halts (appearing as IO Errors, constant on HDD led, and a spindown sound), so I thought it’s time to replace it.

Read more »